Search Results

Oxhide (ox hide, ox-hide) ingots are popular trade goods during the Bonze Age. An ingot is a piece of metal or other material such as glass, cast into a shape of certain size or weight. Oxhide ingots are traditionally copper, a primary component of bronze. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Urnfield Bronze & Iron Age Burials Honey Mead: Most Ancient Ambrosia Sylvia Rose Books Oxhide ingots weigh 20-30 kg (44-66 lb) each. The shape resembles the stretched hide of an ox with a protruding handle at each of the ingot’s four corners. At first archaeologists assume each ingot is equivalent to the value of one ox. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Oxen come in different sizes, from 450 - 1180 kg (1000 - 2600 lb). When yoking oxen for work it's important to use animals of similar size. Otherwise, as both ingots and oxen sizes vary, archaeologists soon assert the shape is a coincidence. Oldest Cattle Cult 6000 BCE - Arabia Cattle Goddesses & the Cosmic Cow Tanning Hides - Ancient Techniques Sylvia Rose Books Speculations arise. "The ingots' producers probably designed these protrusions (corner extensions) to make the ingots easily transportable overland on the backs of pack animals." - Pulak, Cemal (2000). READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Pack animals include donkeys, dogs, goats, mules, horses, yak, reindeer, elephants, oxen, llamas and camels. Egyptian art shows workers carrying oxhide ingots. Complete or partial ingots are found in Sardinia, Crete, Peloponnese, Cyprus and Sicily. Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy Christmas Oranges & Yule Fruits Egyptian Blue Faience - Ceramic Glass Sylvia Rose Books Copper forms a protective patina of blue green verdigris when exposed to air, as in the ingot above. From c. 5h century CE verdigris pigment production is big business throughout the Middle Ages. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Typically the ingot is nearly pure copper. Re-used copper may contain traces of slag. Use of ingots also contributes to higher rates of production. Some ingots bear stamps. Various metallurgists may have their own styles and mark the finished product as proof of quality. Verdigris: Volatile Blue Green Pigment Mercury (Quicksilver): Miracle Metal of Alchemy Alchemist Dippel: the Frankenstein Files Sylvia Rose Books Bronze recipes can vary. Usually bronze is 88% copper and 12% tin. More ornamental items might use 90% copper and 10% tin. The more tin the harder the bronze. Arsenic is sometimes used for an even harder bronze, as in weapons, and if tin supplies are short. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Copper ingots are also discovered in Turkey including at Boğazköy (Hattusa), as well as in Egypt and Sozopol in Bulgaria. Marine archaeologists recover many ox hide ingots from two shipwrecks off the coast of Turkey (Uluburun and a later wreck off Cape Gelidonya at Lycia). Uluburun - Bronze Age Shipwreck Arsenic: Murderous Metal & Miracle Cure Steam & Style - Agrippina of the Rhine Sylvia Rose Books In Egypt, ox-hide ingots are popular during the New Kingdom (after c. 1570 BCE). Building escalates. Tombs and temples show depictions of the “Asiatic copper”. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures In ancient Greece, many copper ingots weigh around 29-30 kg (64-66 lb). In this case it's suggested by scholars one oxhide ingot is equivalent to the Attic Greek talent weight unit at 26 kg (57 lb). According to Attic Greeks, a talent is equal to nine man-years of skilled work. Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Sylvia Rose Books Ancient Egyptians identify copper supply in three regions: Syria, Crete and, based on lead content, mostly central Cyprus. Egyptians are also mining copper from Sinai by the third millenium BCE. They prefer arsenic to tin due to the superior weaponry it produces. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries For seafaring merchants, ox-hide ingots are most desirable because they stack, taking up less room on a ship. A pack animal such as donkey or mule carries 20% of its body weight, which is not a lot of oxhide ingots. Dromedary Camel: Animals of Ancient Arabia Papyrus (C. papyrus): Sacred Reeds of Aaru Nabu (Nabû) - Ancient God of Scribes Sylvia Rose Books Large Bactrian camels can carry more than 200 kg (440 lb) for 50 km (31 mi) in a day. A dromedary camel carries up to 100 kg (c. 220 lb) for 60 km (37 mile) in the cool of night. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In the ancient world, use of ingots encourages standardization in size and dimensions of common items, including shields and weaponry, tools, and ornamentation such as gold bracelets or lock rings. Made with standard metal content they're also a type of currency. See also: Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Is Cherry Laurel Poisonous? Great Cormorant: Wild Birds & Mythic Beasts Sylvia Rose Books Metal or later glass ingots are popular items on trade routes. Precious metal ingots such as gold and the preferred currency metal, silver, can be used as money. Most merchants carry their own set of scales or measuring tools. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Before widespread use of coinage in the 1st millennium BCE, armbands, bracelets and lock rings are used as a type of standardized currency. The first coin in the world is the Lydian lion. It's minted by the kingdom of Lydia, in modern-day Turkey c. 700 BCE. Ninkasi: Beer Goddess Mesopotamia Ancient Wild Predators - Eurasian Lion Turquoise: Precious Stone of Ancients READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries The Lydian lion and other Lydian coins are made of electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver found in abundance in the region. Electrum is in use as early as the third millennium BC in the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Minoans of Crete: Ancient Greek Culture Back to Top

Bronze Age burial ruins from the Urnfield Culture are found at Marburg Botanical Garden in Hesse and Franzhausen-Kokoron, Austria. The Urnfields get the name from the practice of cremating bodies, storing the ashes in urns and burying them in cemetery fields. See also: Urnfield Culture: Bronze & Iron Age Europe Slavic River Spirits & Roman Gods Honey Mead: Most Ancient Ambrosia Sylvia Rose Books The Urnfield group evolves from the preceding Tumulus Culture and the Nordic Bronze Age. A formidable force, the Tumulus culture is coming to the end of its multi-national domination as the Urnfield people flex their muscles c. 1300 BCE and into the Iron Age. People of the Tumulus culture trade with Scandinavia and Atlantic Europe, with wares reaching Mycenaean Greeks in the south, another dominant power. Trade establishes and fortifies networks by land or sea. Tumulus Culture - Nordic Bronze Age Ancient Greece: Mycenaean Invasion Tin Trade Routes - Ancient Networks Sylvia Rose Books The Urnfield take over northern trade. Amber and metal ornaments or tools are common. Other trade desirables include spices, wine, fabrics, dyes, gemstones, pottery, utensils, raw metal, timber, weapons, slaves, livestock, pottery, deific idols, news and gossip. People of the Urnfield Culture get their name from the burial tradition of cremating their dead and putting the ashes into pottery urns. Urns are placed in barrow or pit style graves. Sometimes ashes of the deceased are sprinkled in the burial pit without the urn. Destiny & Death: Fate in the Ancient World Oder River: Nature & Early People Baba Yaga - Slavic Forest Witch Sylvia Rose Books Grave pits are round to oval or square, with a diameter 0.4 (1.3 ft) to 1.0 m (3.3 ft). There is no grave architecture. Urn and grave goods are placed in the grave, usually filling the pit. In earlier burials, some pits don't contain cremated remains, but stones treated with fire. Grave goods, personal items, good luck tokens, beads and precious stones might also be found in a burial site. As metallurgists Urnfield people are among the catalysts of the the Iron Age in the north. Witches' Night - Hexennacht Volcanic Wipeout - 1600 BCE Eruption of Thera Lucifer, Venus & Anti-Gods of Mythology Sylvia Rose Books Development of the Urnfield burial style is a gradual progression. Urnfield burials occur in some regions of Europe c. 2300 BCE, a thousand years before they become widespread. While archaeological evidence appears by 1600 BCE, scholars agree the rise of the Urnfield Culture or Urnenfelderzeit is c. 1300 BCE. A burial site at Franzhausen-Kokoron, Austria, dating to 1030 BCE, yields the type of grave goods found in Urnfield cremation burials. Hünenburg: Bronze Age European Trade Hub Woad, the People's Blue: Ancient Pigments Castor Oil, Wigs & Death in Ancient Egypt Sylvia Rose Books Graves may be in shallow pits or barrows and contain one to several ceramic vessels, in which are found signs of cremated human remains or food offerings for the afterworld; these may be preserved as un-burnt animal bones. Among the total of 403 graves in Austria, 268 urn graves are found, including 24 double burials. Some are damaged or scattered as the site is found during highway construction. Still, over 350 individuals are identified in the gravesites so far. Edelweiss: Alpine Flower of True Love Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Rhododendron & the Toxic Ambrosia At the Austrian dig excavators find 529 metal objects. Bronzes are intact or deformed by fire. Many dress pins are revealed, especially vase-headed and onion or poppy-headed pins; various kinds of fibulae (brooches): one-piece wire bow, spectacle and harp fibulae. Also found are arm and neck rings and various small rings (including a golden Lockenring) and decorative bronze rivets. A Lockenring or lock ring is a rare Middle Bronze Age gold ring dating to c.1600 - 1400 BCE. Megaliths & Building at Gobekli Tepe Sacred Cave Trapeza (Kronion), Crete Christmas Oranges & Yule Fruits Sylvia Rose Books The Lockenring is a single link in a royal chain or collar. Like arm bands and bracelets, lock rings are used as currency in business and trade, or given as royal gifts. Celtic Ring-Money evolves from these items, which may evolve from the production of ingots. Extraordinary finds include belt buckles and earrings with blue glass beads, small disc and ring beads of bone, mollusc and stone. Mollusc shell jewelry is made shells of land snails (Zebrina detrita). Several graves contain knucklebones (astragali), used for divination. Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy The Mystic Victorian - Fortune Telling Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Sylvia Rose Books Numerous knives, tanged knives (Griffplattenmesser), full-hilted knives (Vollgriffmesser) and some iron knives are found. Also among the items are awls, fishhooks, crescent-shaped razors with ring handle, an arrowhead, sewing needles, and spindle whorl of bone. In sites such as Marburg traces of human settlement date back to the Würm Ice Age c. 50,000 ya. Scrapers and other tools are found at several sites, suggesting settlements of Neanderthal and later people. After the Ice Age - Neolithic Builders Oldest Cattle Cult 6000 BCE - Arabia Wild Women and Winter Tales Sylvia Rose Books During the Neolithic Age, people transition from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to working the land. Natural conditions of the Amöneburg Basin with its fertile soils are well suited to agriculture. In the 5th millennium BCE settlements are founded and cultures such as the Rössen or Michelsberg hold battles in the area. Later Corded Ware and Bell Beaker cultures move in. Numerous burial mounds date from this time. Bronze Age - Corded Ware Culture Bell Beaker Culture: Bronze Age Europe Warrior Queen: Kriemhild of the Burgundians Sylvia Rose Books Remains of a grave from the Late Bronze Age is in the New Botanical Garden. A complex on the nearby Schanzenkopf can be attributed to the late Merovingian period c. 700 AD. Gold-of-Pleasure: Bronze Age Crops Jade - Jadeite, Nephrite & Jade Roads Butter - Food of Peasants & Barbarians Botanical Garden Sylvia Rose Books Besides burial mounds and Bronze Age graves, the Botanischer Garten Marburg (Botanical Garden) has several lovely attractions: Alpinum - rock garden representing plants from the high mountains of Europe, western Asia, the Himalayas, Australia, and New Zealand. Arboretum - focusing on conifers, including Sequoiadendron giganteum and Metasequoia glyptostroboides, as well as alders, ash, birches, ginkgos, hazels, maples, oaks, deciduous poplars, sycamores, and willows, representing both native and exotic species. Fern collection - 80 fern species. Forest - spring-blooming plants including Anemone, Gagea, Iris, Narcissus, Pulsatilla, Scilla, and Tulipa. Medicinal and useful plants - including cereals and other carbohydrates, succulents, vegetables, fiber plants, tobacco plants, rubber plants, and dye plants. Heather and rhododendron garden - numerous heather and rhododendron species including Calluna vulgaris, Erica carnea, Erica cinerea, and Erica tetralix. Egyptian Blue Lotus: Visionary Beauty German Myth - Father Rhine River God Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Links Back to Top

The Uluburun shipwreck is among the amazing discoveries from the Bronze Age. Near Uluburun (Grand Cape) in Mediterranean Anatolia (Turkey), the wreckage of the ship includes abundant trade cargo. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Cilicia (Kazziwatna) - Bounty & Booty Saffron - Most Precious Ancient Spice Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia Sylvia Rose Books The shipwreck dates back to the 14th century BCE, allowing a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a Bronze Age vessel and life at sea. Evidence shows the ship set sail from either a Cypriot (Cyprus) or Syro-Palestinian (Levant) port. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure The wreck is in the Bay of Antalya off the Turkish Turquoise Coast. The Uluburun ship was sailing to an area west of Cyprus in the east Mediterranean toward the Greek Aegean Sea. See also: Tin - Essential Metal of Antiquity Copper - Ruddy Metal of Myth and Magic Immortal - Quest for the Elixir of Life Sylvia Rose Books According to shipwreck excavators, the ship was probably headed for one of the Mycenaean palaces on mainland Greece. It collided with the Grand Cape headland, and the crew abandoned ship before it sank. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction German Mythology Adventures The Mycenaean Greek civilization (c. 1600 - 1100 BCE) includes some of the most prolific Bronze Age traders. As well as controlling a number of Mediterranean trade hubs, they have connections with Egypt, another super-trader of the times. See also: Ancient Deities: Proto Indo European Gods Ancient Greece - the Mycenean Invasion Rosemary: Immortal Essence & Balm of Kings Sylvia Rose Books They also trade with Northern Europeans of the Baltic coast, where precious amber glimmers on the stormy shores. Early trade routes become a network of roads by land, sea and river, some still in use today. The sunken ship has a cedar keel, a wood obtained from the Cedar Forests of Lebanon and purveyed in part by Phoenician merchants. The cedar also grows in central Cyprus and the south of Turkey. See also: Bronze Age Trade of Mesopotamia Ninkarrak: Ancient Medicine Goddess Shen Rings Egypt - Divine Protection Sylvia Rose Books Trade wares aboard the ship show a lengthy journey to ports in Europe, Africa, Sicily, Sardinia and Mesopotamia. The boat is fully loaded and heading for home. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Luxury items, gifts intended for royalty and raw materials such as copper and tin indicate a prosperous network of trade among the countries of the Mediterranean and their allies. Baltic amber from the north and blackwood from Africa are among the trade items found. See also: Baltic Amber - Gold of the North Seduction of Hedammu, Father of Snakes Salt Trade - the Most Precious Mineral Sylvia Rose Books Before the discovery of the Uluburun wreck, many trade items exist only in drawings and texts. Over 22,000 dives recover objects from the sea floor. Due to the depth of the seas off the Cape, the underwater site is protected from looters. The cargo includes copper and tin ingots, specifically made bars or coils of pre-measured quantities of metal. As bronze is 88% copper and 12% tin, sometimes 90% and 10%, metalworkers can create ingots in measures to suit this equation. See also: Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Bronze Age Europe - the Amber Roads Cassiterite - Tin Source of Ancients Sylvia Rose Books Use of ingots encourages standardization in size and dimensions of typical bronze items including shields and weaponry, tools, and ornamentation such as bracelets. Bracelets made with of standard metal content weight are also a type of currency. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction German Mythology Adventures Use of ingots also contributes to higher rates of production by smiths. As they're hammered rather than cast, ox hide ingots aren't exactly the same size, a confounding detail to archaeological purists. Metal or glass ingots are popular items of trade. See also: Myth & Metallurgy - Metals of Antiquity Anubis: Jackal-Headed God of Egypt Striped Hyena - Bronze Age Wild Sylvia Rose Books Copper aboard the shipwreck matches that of Cyprus, a prosperous site of copper mining. About a third of the tin is from the Mušiston mine in Uzbekistan. The rest of the tin is said to come from the Kestel Mine in Turkey's Taurus Mountains. The Kestel mine, a horrific use of child labor, shut down operations by c. 1850 BCE, five hundred years before the Uluburun shipwreck. See also: Taurus Mountains: Bronze Age Bounty Al-Mi'raj: Unicorn Hare of Arab Myth Gibil - Fire God of Mesopotamia Sylvia Rose Books About 150 Canaanite pottery jars are recovered, containing glass beads, olives, and significant amounts of Pistacia (Pistacia lentiscus) resin, an ancient type of turpentine. This resin comes from shrub-like plants native to the Mediterranean. The earliest intact glass ingots come from the Uluburun shipwreck, in stunning hues of cobalt blue, turquoise and lavender purple. The chemical composition of the cobalt blue ingots matches those of Mycenaean pendant beads. See also: Egyptian Blue Faience - Ceramic Glass Queen Eleanor & the Calamitous Crusade Bird Woman Elwetritsch: German Folklore Sylvia Rose Books From the same source come Egyptian core-formed glass vessels. Before the advent of the glass blow-pipe (Roman Empire c. 50 BCE), hollow glass vessels are created around a removable core. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure The vessel of the Uluburun shipwreck is loaded with gold including scrap metals from Canaanite regions. From Egypt come gold, silver and electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold. Electrum is also mined in Lydia and goes on to create the first coins c. 700 BCE. See also: Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Women of Alchemy - Mary the Jewess Immortal - Quest for the Elixir of Life Sylvia Rose Books A chalice is the largest gold item aboard. One of the most significant gold finds is a scarab inscribed with the name of Queen Nefertiti of Egypt (c. 1370 - 1330 BCE). The ship also carries steatite (soapstone), a favorite soft stone for carving and making cylinder seals. READ: Reiker For Hire Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Weapons found at the wreck site include arrowheads, spearheads, maces, daggers, axes and swords. A ceremonial axe of unidentified green volcanic stone comes the area of today's Bulgaria. See also: Hattusa Green Stone - Mystic Secrets Nabarbi - Rustic Goddess of Pastures Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Sylvia Rose Books A folding boxwood and ivory writing tablet is among the unique finds. Tools include sickles, awls, drill bits, a saw, tongs, chisels, a ploughshare, whetstones and adzes. Pan-balance weights for measurement and trade are also among the discoveries. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Most weights are geometric, and some in the shape of animals. Along with ingots the weights are important in developing systems of standardized measurement. See also: Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Lead: Death Metal of Metallurgy Bizilla - Shining Love Goddess Sukkal Sylvia Rose Books Spices and edibles aboard include figs, pine nuts, almonds, grapes, olives, safflower, sumac, black cumin, coriander and pomegranates. Other cargo includes: African blackwood (then called ebony) ivory - whole and partial hippopotamus and elephant tusks hippopotamus teeth tortoise shells Murex opercula, or rock snail feet (possibly for incense). ostrich eggshells pottery and oil lamps from Cyprus faience bronze, copper and faience rhyton vessels Two duck-shaped ivory cosmetics boxes Ivory cosmetics or unguent spoon Trumpet Over two dozen sea-shell rings Beads of Baltic amber Gemstones such as carnelian, agate and quartz See also: Soap & Medicine Herb of Ancients Shen Rings Egypt - Divine Protection Taweret - Hippopotamus Goddess of Egypt Sylvia Rose Books Ship Details The length of the ship is 15 - 16 metres (49 - 52 ft). It has a single mast with sail and a steering oar or rudder on each side. The oars are made so one person can operate both. See also: Agrippina & Son: Poisonous Plots of Rome Song of the Loreley Herbology & Lore: Caraway Sylvia Rose Books The ship is about 5 meters (16.5 ft) in width, and has the capacity to carry up to twenty tons of cargo. About 17 tons of artifacts have been recovered by divers. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction German Mythology Adventures It's made by the "shell-first" boat building method, popular during the Late Bronze Age. As the name suggests the shell is constructed first and the framework around it. Mortise and tenon construction is used to build the ship. It's made of Lebanese cedar with oak fixtures. See also: Eileithyia: Birth Goddess of Ancient Greece Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds Chaoskampf: Order & Chaos Battle Out READ: Reiker For Hire Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Since the completion of excavation in September 1994, scientific efforts turn to conservation, study and research. Work continues at the conservation laboratory of the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Turkey. See also: Nigella Sativa: Black Seed of Healers Kohl: Eye Beauty Magic of Ancients Shakhar & Shalim: Divine Twins of Ugarit Back to Top

Tin is one of the top commodities in ancient times. As the Bronze Age advances (c. 3300 - 1200 BCE), merchants, traders, explorers and travelers are forming vast networks of roads and connecting waterways. See also: Cassiterite - Tin Source of Ancients Urnfield Culture: Bronze & Iron Age Europe Copper - Ruddy Metal of Mystic Magic Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Earliest of the major trade routes are the Amber Roads. Baltic amber makes its way from the stormy northern coast to the balmy breezes of the Mediterranian or the exotic spices of Egypt. Read: Cult of the Fire God - New 2024 The tin routes connect the Middle East and Central Asia. Later, they'll hook up with the Silk Roads and the Steppe routes. Locally, Europe has few sources of tin. In ancient times it's imported on long journeys, from the known tin mining towns of antiquity. See also: Amethyst - Divine Purple Quartz Gemstone Spiritual Alchemy: Obsidian Volcanic Glass Ancient Wild Predators - Eurasian Lion Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The most prolific tin mining regions are the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) along the modern border between German / Czech Republic border. It's said to be the oldest site in Europe, first mined c. 2500 BCE. Tin also comes from the Iberian Peninsula, as well as Brittany in today's France, and Cornwall and Devon in southwestern Britain. Less productive tin sources exist in the Balkans and Tuscany. The Tuscan site at Monte Valerio is worked c. 800 BCE but yields are small. See also: Bronze Age Ancients - Catacomb Culture Zircon - the Primordial Gemstone Ullikummi - Rock Monster of Legend Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books During the Bronze Age, Iberian tin is widely traded across the Mediterranean. The later Romans also take advantage of the abundance. People lose interest in the Iberian desposits in the medieval period. After several centuries the ancient tin source re-gained prominence in the mid-1800s. Read: Cult of the Fire God - New 2024 Tin ore is scarce in west Asia. Small casserite deposits appear along the Yellow River in China. In Southern Turkey, the city of Kestel in the Taurus Mountains has an ancient cassiterite mine. In use from c. 3250 to 1800 BCE, it has two miles of tunnels. See also: Before the Vikings - Nordic Bronze Age Asteria - Starry Gems of Myth & Magic Nixies - Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Some tunnels are only big enough for a child. A grave with remains of children, probably workers, has been found. When the mine stopped producing it was abandoned. Crucibles for melting metals and other tools remain at the site. The richest deposits world-wide are in Southeast Asia. The ore belt stretches from Yunnan to the Malay Peninsula. Mining here begins c. 700 BCE. See also: Bes: Household Protector God of Egypt Al-Mi'raj: Unicorn Hare of Arab Myth Myrrh - Mystique, Death & Divinity Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Tin is used on the Indian subcontinent c. 1500 - 1000 BCE and dependent on trade, lacking sources in the area. The only tin-producing state in India is Chhattisgarh on the central subcontinent. The Amber Roads and established Mediterranean trade routes bring tin from merchants to buyers, and also transport workers and tradespeople. The Eurasian Steppe Routes facilitate journeys north and east. See also: Steppe Trade Routes: Before the Silk Road Benu - Ba Heron God of Ancient Egypt Sun Goddess of the Earth: Hittite Underworld Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The west-east trade routes are orginally founded on lapis lazuli and turquoise. The Silk Roads open for trade with the West in c. 130 BCE. The donkey or mule is the common method of transport and hauling along the trade roads. Horses are used by the elite. Camels are domesticated in the 3rd millenium BCE. These and other animals cross paths on the trade routes. See also: Stone Age Botai - First Horse People A Viking Christmas Yule Wild Women and Winter Tales Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books When the Romans hit the scene in the 8th century BCE, they import their tin from Iberia and northern Portugal. The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most prosperous areas of trade, connecting Greece, Italy, Syria, the Levant, North Africa and other regions. See also: Bronze Age - Corded Ware Culture Kohl: Eye Beauty Magic of Ancients Cult of the Fire God - New 2024

In Greek myth, the Stymphalian birds appear in tales of Heracles and in the Argonautica, the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts. The Goddess Hera commissions war god Ares to create the Stymphalian birds to kill Heracles. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Amazons - Warrior Women History & Myth Great Cormorant: Wild Birds & Mythic Beasts Sylvia Rose Books Hera hates Heracles because he forever reminds her of Zeus' infidelity. He's a descendent of Io, a mortal woman of high birth, and Zeus in the form of a cloud. Hera turns Io into a cow. This famous act leads to an origin tale of the Bosporus Strait. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Ares creates the birds for Hera. They're driven away from their initial nesting site by wolves, and come to inhabit the Stymphalian marshes of Arcadia. Their feathers are honed copper and bronze. They shoot them like arrows at enemies. Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Bosporus: Black Sea Nature & Greek Myth Sylvia Rose Books Known as voracious maneaters, they have deadly sharp bronze beaks. Their dung is poisonous and they wreak mass destruction. The sixth labor of Heracles is to get rid the Stymphalian birds. When he arrives the birds are reluctant to fly from their nests. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures The beak of a cormorant has a strong hook at the end to snag fish from crevices. Reluctance to fly is a cormorant trait as their wings are small relative to body weight, so flying takes extra energy. Humbaba: Giant Mountain Forest Man Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy Mythic Fire Gods: Hephaestus of the Greek Sylvia Rose Books They make this sacrifice for incredible agility under water. Heracles makes noise to frighten them into the sky, where he shoots them. In myth the surviving birds fly to the isle of Ares, or Aretias, in the Black Sea. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries In reality they'd be different flocks of cormorants as the sea is salt and Arcadian wetlands are fresh. The Great Cormorant species can live in both. The isle of Ares is identified with Giresun Island on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. See also: Giresun (Aretias): Isle of the Amazons Night Raven (Nachtkrapp) Germania Pagan Solstice Fests: Saturnalia READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries It's also called Amazon Island as the legendary warrior women build a temple there. In the story of Jason and the Argonauts, a blind prophet tells Jason: " .... ye must beach your ship upon a smooth island, when ye have driven away with all manner of skill the ravening birds, which in countless numbers haunt the desert island. In it the Queens of the Amazons, Otrere and Antiope, built a stone temple of Ares ... " See also: Destiny & Death: Fate in the Ancient World Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Links Klabautermann - Germanic Sea Kobold Sylvia Rose Books For a long time, this island has been a breeding ground of cormorants and gulls. Early Greek sailors might view the birds with suspicion. Their wing-spread stance seems aggressive. They eat all the fish in the sea. Cormorants are voracious feeders. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Cormorants are designed for gluttony, stuffing extra food in their flexible neck pouches. They're a distant relative of pelicans. Their chick are ravenous too. They eat all they can to get them through lean times. See also: Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds Is Cherry Laurel Poisonous? Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Sylvia Rose Books Nearing the island shores in breeding season might arouse hostility and loud bleats from the birds. As the myth says, the dung of the birds is toxic. Cormorant dung has a high acidity level. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Since the birds use the same nests every year, the ground beneath the nesting sites soon becomes barren of life. Usually they nest on cliffs, rocky coastlines and islands. In woodland wetland areas they nest in colonies in tall trees. See also: Baal Cycle - Myths of Ba'al Hadad Bird Woman Elwetritsch: German Folklore Colchis - Bronze Age on the Black Sea Sylvia Rose Books Mythic creatures and beasts develop from real ones and imaginative interpretations over the years. So, it's possible the cormorants of Arcadia and the Black Sea are the inspiration for Greek Stymphalian birds. Great Cormorants still nest on Amazon Island. See also: Gargari: Men of the Amazon Warriors Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice Prussian Blue - Delight of Artists & Poisoners Back to Top

Mycenaean Greece rises to power in the Bronze Age c. 1750 - 1050 BCE. Mycenaean civilization is a pinnacle of Greek grandeur, with palaces, central administration, art and conquest. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Minoans of Crete: Ancient Greek Culture Before the Vikings - Nordic Bronze Age Rosemary: Immortal Essence & Balm of Kings Sylvia Rose Books In the 18th century BCE, groups of settlers arrive in today's mainland Greece. Around 1600 BCE they build a city, Mycenae. The city becomes one of the greatest centers of power in the ancient world. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In lore, the city is named either by the Greek hero Perseus as the cap (myces) falls off his scabbard and he sees it as a good omen; or he names it after finding a mushroom Mycena (Gr. fungus) and discovering a wellspring of fresh water. Butzemann, Witches & Nyx - Scare 'em Good Folk Magic: Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) Slavic River Spirits & Roman Gods Sylvia Rose Books Mycena is a genus of small saprotrophic or wood-loving mushrooms. The name Mycena comes from the Ancient Greek μύκης mykes, meaning "fungus". Species in the genus Mycena are commonly known as bonnets. They're not toxic, but not edible. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures In ancient cultures to modern times, mushrooms and wellsprings both have magical properties. Mushrooms are often associated with faerie folk or shamanism and wellsprings are spiritual places. Temples and tombs are often built near water and water sources. Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy Red Ocher (Ochre) Ancient Pigments Reishi or Lingzhi - Mushroom Magic Sylvia Rose Books Mainland Greeks, the Mycenaeans are in contact with Minoan Crete and other island Mediterranean cultures through trade and travel. The Minoans are ancient at the time the Mycenaeans are young. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure On Crete, habitation prospers from Neolithic times c. 7000 BCE. Built around the Cult of the Bull c. 3100 BCE, Minoan culture comes into its glory days c. 1700 BCE. By then Mycenean culture is also on the rise. Mythology: Gods of Mycenean Greece Potnia: Mystery Goddess of Ancient Greece Erinyes - Vengeful Women of Ancient Greece Sylvia Rose Books Originally, Mycenae is a hill fort with houses and other buildings around it. The hill is a good position strategically and for defense, in an area of fertile agricultural land and water sources. It's about 12 mi (19 km) inland from the Gulf of Argolis in the Sea of Crete. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Mycenae grows into a trading empire with a strong military force. Interacting with Minoans to the south and people of the islands which would become the Cyclades. Myceneans gain inspiration and build palaces and temples on a grand scale. Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Eileithyia: Birth Goddess of Ancient Greece Agrippina & Son: Poisonous Plots of Rome Sylvia Rose Books Mycenaeans are sailors, warriors, farmers, artists, builders, traders. They invent modern military infrastructure. Their Linear B script is the first written record of the Greek language. Deities Poseidon, Pan and Demeter prevail into the Olympic and later Roman pantheons. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures A warrior elite society, Mycenaean Greece is a network of palace-centered states with defined systems of heirarchy, politics, society and economy. At the head of society is the wanax, or king. See also: Rise of Pan: Fertility Goat God Péh₂usōn Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Sylvia Rose Books Mycenae is the main center of Aegean civilization. By 1450 BCE the Mycenean Greeks spread to the Aegean islands and coasts. Showing their warlike side they occupy Knossos on Crete, center of Minoan culture. READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Signs of battle and destruction are evident and the Minoans become part of the greater Mycenean empire. The pre-Viking cultures such as Battle Axe on the Nordic coasts, Baltic Tumulus, and the Nordic Bronze Age establish lucrative trade with the Myceneans. See also: Before the Vikings: Battle Axe Culture Tumulus Culture - Nordic Bronze Age Bronze Age Europe - The Amber Roads Sylvia Rose Books Dwellings and gathering places of palatial scope are a trend among the Greeks from the 15th century BCE. The kingly palace is composed of a megaron, or throne room, with raised central hearth under a roof opening. It's supported by four columns in a square. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure The throne is against a wall to the side of the hearth, giving an unobstructed view of the seated monarch from the entrance. Frescoes, a technique of painting characteristic of the Minoans of Crete, decorate the walls and floors. See also: Arsenic: Murderous Metal & Miracle Cure Myth & Metallurgy - Metals of Antiquity Wild Women and Winter Tales Sylvia Rose Books A courtyard with columns leads to the throne room, and a grand staircase ascends from a terrace level below. A Cyclopean architecture style begins c. 1250 BCE, named because stones are so big and heavy only a giant Cyclops could move them. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures The largest stones including the lintels and gate jambs weigh well over 22 tons; some may have been close to 110 tons. "Houses" including a House of Shields, House of the Oil Merchant, House of Sphinxes and West House are both habitations and workshops. Weapons & Warfare of Bronze Age Europe 1 Cleopatra the Alchemist of Greece Fortune Telling - The Mystic Victorian READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries By 1240 BCE, the Mycenaeans experience the first wave of attacks by hostile Sea Peoples. European Bronze Age collapse marks the beginning of the Iron Age. Mycenae is rocked by destruction and civilization falls to ruin, as do many others in the ancient world. See also: Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Plant Lore: Stinking Nightshade, Henbane Destiny & Death: Fate in the Ancient World Back to Top

Elwetritsch is a hybrid bird creature from the Palatinate region in southwest Germany. She's described as a chicken or woman-like bird with horns or antlers but has a variety of manifestations. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Aventure Series See also: Mulberry Tree (Morus): Uses, Folklore & Myth German Myth & Folklore: Imps Happy Wednesday! Tidbits & Trivia Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books She's compared to the Wolpertinger of alpine forest lore. Elwetritsch officially became a woman in the later 20th century, when artists began adding breasts to images and sculptures. Now a good male is hard to find. At one point her mythology almost vanished. Fortunately a 19th century German in the Middle Rhine area became interested in the mythical creature. He organized "hunting parties" as pranks or games to find the elusive Elwetritsch. See also: Cinnamon - Spice Trade of Ancients Brunhilde: Tragic Germanic Warrior Queen Cleopatra the Alchemist of Greece Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Rumors and popularity grew. Even a Bavarian king who received roast birds for dinner was told they were Elwetritsche. The myth of the Bird Woman rose back up from the ashes. In some depictions she might have scales instead of feathers. She's fundamentally flightless, but can make a terrific wind flapping her wings. Her voice is a type of cluck, like a chicken. See also: Wolpertinger: German Myths & Folklore Happy Friday! Tidbits & Trivia Nigella Sativa: Black Seed of Healers Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The tradition of make-believe hunting parties, or pranking one's out-of-town friends into looking for the Elwetritsch, is still found today. Folklore of the hybrid bird leads to increased tourism and sales of souvenirs in the Palatinate, proving the Bird Woman Elwetritsch is a sign of prosperity. See also: Spiritual Magic - Numbers Three & Nine Ambrosia: Divine Nectar & Immortal Gods Gula - Medicine Goddess of Mesopotamia Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle Other famous hybrid animals include Rasselbock - Thuringian Forest in central Germany, a rabbit with antlers Dilldapp - Alemannic region: southern Germany, Switzerland, Tyrol, Lichtenstein, Swabia Wolpertinger - Bavaria, Switzerland, Austria, Bohemia - hare with wings and antlers Skvader - Swedish cousin of Wolpertinger. See also: Abu - Ancient Vegetation Snake God Wadjet - Winged Snake Goddess of Egypt Carnelian - Gems of the Ancient World READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Aventure Series Raurakl - Austrian Wolpertinger Jackalope - America esp Colorado, Wyoming & Nebraska, a jackrabbit with antlers Al-Mi'raj - one-horned hare, unicorn hare or unicorn rabbit in Arabian mythology. The sight of it causes enemies to flee in terror. Mušḫuššu - Mesopotamian hybrid animal, companion and helper to the god Marduk Sphinx - head of a human, body of a lion and wings of an eagle, Greek, Egyptian Lamassu - head of a man, body of a bull, wings of an eagle; Assyrian protector entity See also: Pretty Poisons: Holly, Yew, Mistletoe Shen Rings Egypt - Divine Protection Inspiring Words from Shakespeare Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Elwetritsch might be heard rustling around in the underbrush and vines looking for nest material. She moves quickly. She can burst out of the bushes and run in front of a person. A feather on the path is a sign of luck. Sometimes her beak is shown to be especially long. In other depictions she might have only the suggestion of a beak. See also: Arabian Leopard: Bronze Age Predators Pioneering German Women - Bertha Benz German Myth - Werewolves Back to Top

Fortune telling, divination and mystic arts gain huge popularity in the European Victorian Era. Nations careen through cycles of progress and industrial revolutions. A hectic pace triggers reactional revivals of Romantic imagery, self-searching, Nature and the occult. Read: Murder in the Cards - A Reiker For Hire Mystery Steam & Coal in Victorian Germany Song of the Loreley - Lethal Beauty Destiny & Death: Fate in the Ancient World Sylvia Rose Books In the Victorian era the Spiritualist movement appeals to those searching for a religion uniting mysticism and science. Spiritualism is a social religious movement centered on the belief a person's awareness lingers on after death and may be contacted by the living. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Spiritualists behold the afterlife, or spirit world, as a place in which spirits continue to evolve. In communication with the dead, spirits can give helpful advice or insight into moral or ethical concerns. Butzemann, Witches & Nyx - Scare 'em Good Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Honey Bees (Apidae): Nature & Myth Sylvia Rose Books Various forms of fortune-telling are practiced from the prehistory of humankind. In regions of ancient China, Egypt, Chaldea (S. Iraq), and Babylonia, evidence of divination appears by c. 4000 BCE. Some methods remain the same for thousands of years. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Divination through history involves cards, crystal balls, tea leaves, astrology, automatic writing, Ouija boards, trances, scrying, palm reading, more. Common entertainments include astragalomancy (casting the bones) and phrenology (interpreting bumps on the head). Casting the Bones - Astragalomancy Honey Mead: Most Ancient Ambrosia Great Bear - Nature, Spirituality & Lore Sylvia Rose Books Casting the bones, lots or dice predates the written records of humankind. Astrology evolves from Mesopotamia c. 1800 BCE. Crystal balls are known c. 5th century CE. Astrology is thought to date back to the 3rd millennium BCE. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Throughout ancient history, and up to the 17th century in Eurasia, astrology is an academic discipline. Astrology influences the way one arranges marriage, starts a war or plans a palace. Asteria - Starry Gems of Myth & Magic Bronze Age Europe - The Amber Road Nixies - Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Sylvia Rose Books Scrying is widespread by the 5th century BCE despite being condemned by the medieval church. In scrying the diviner gazes into a crystal ball or water, or falls into a trance. Staring into hot coals is anthracomancy. Scryers see visions and may hear voices. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Palmistry originates in ancient India and spreads to China, Tibet, Persia, Egypt and Greece. Aristotle describes palm reading in his De Historia Animalium (History of Animals) in the 4th century BCE. Women of the Wild Hunt: Holle, Diana, Frigg Reiker For Hire, Victorian Era & Nixies Turquoise: Precious Stone of Ancients Sylvia Rose Books Tarot originates is 1440 CE Italy as a deck for card games. The Tarot is first adapted for divination in 1789 and comes into popular use. Cartomancy, reading playing cards, comes to Europe from China in the 14th century with introduction of the standardized card deck. In the Victorian Era, one of the favorite mystic past-times at parties and gatherings is fortune telling with a regular 52-card deck. Every suit, number and combination has a meaning. 12 Days of Zagmuk: Chaos & the King Lucifer, Venus & Anti-Gods of Mythology Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Sylvia Rose Books For example: Clubs indicate positive growth, people, objects or events coming in the near future Spades relate to challenge, progress, building on physical, intellectual, spiritual levels Hearts represent feelings, emotions, home, love, family and romantic relationships Diamonds connect to money, prosperity, business, success Read: Murder in the Cards - A Reiker For Hire Mystery Fortune telling with playing cards is popular in the 17th - 20th centuries. Interest in spirits, divination, prophecy and life after death crosses class and gender. Inquiring minds seek insight into the future, romance or money. Kur - Underworld of Mesopotamia The Way to Aaru - Egyptian Paradise Women of Alchemy - Mary the Jewess Sylvia Rose Books Séances originate in the 17th century. Automatic writing becomes a divination method in 1878. While Ouija boards are used in Victorian times, they aren't linked to the supernatural until the 20th century. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries From dead relatives, Victorians seek advice, insight or assurance. It's a way of holding on to a beloved family member, like death photography. Mediums, who claim to act as conduits for communication with the dead, are sought after by the social set in the 19th-century. Ib the Heart: Book of the Dead Egypt Jimson Weed, Witches & Zombies Human Taxidermy & Death Photography Sylvia Rose Books Other forms of divination include by animal movement, such as hippomancy or horse divination. In the Ashvamedha sacrifice ritual the horse wanders for a year, attended by guards. If the horse wanders into lands held by another king a battle of conquest follows. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Early Bronze Age Egyptians study movements of the sacred bull Apis. Animal divination is also done by ornithomancy, prophecy by the movement of birds. Among the birds, owls, hens and corvids like crows and ravens are considered the most prophetic. Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds Hippomancy: Sacred Horse Divination Sugar Beets, Altbier & First Newspaper Sylvia Rose Books The 19th century is also a time for stage magic acts featuring mentalism, hypnosis and feats of grand illusion. The first "ball and cups" magic game originates with magician Dedi in Egypt c. 2700 BCE. Magic and divination are in the same spiritual sphere. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Close-up magic, parlor magic and stage magic trend throughout Europe in the 19th century. Magic shows are popular from 1845. In the latter half of the century, magic becomes a spectacle with grand performances to thrill the audience. German Traditions - Gingerbread Houses Victorian Trends - Stripes to Taxidermy Industry & the Age of Monsters Sylvia Rose Books A spectacular number of frauds appear, seeking money from the curious and gullible. Hot on their heels come new laws condemning the activities of fortune tellers, magicians and mediums. Traveling diviners can be charged with vagrancy before even getting a client. Ereshkigal & the Mesopotamian Underworld Great Cormorant: Wild Birds & Mythic Beasts Christmas Oranges & Yule Fruits Back To Top

Astragalomancy is divination using astragali or ankle bones (talus) of animals as dice. Bones of sheep and goats are popular in the near East and Mediterranean, while llama bones are especially linked to communication with the dead in South America. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Destiny & Death: Fate in the Ancient World Christmas Oranges & Yule Fruits Reishi or Lingzhi - Mushroom Magic Sylvia Rose Books Known as cubamancy and astragyromency, astragalomancy is also called knucklebones after the historical type of bones used. It's played as a game or used for divination. The bones are incised with markings such as numbers, letters or symbols. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Marked astragali are discovered near the altar of Aphrodite Ourania (Aphrodite Urania or Aphrodite of the Heavens) in Athens, Greece dating c. 500 BCE. A find at Corycian Cave, near the Delphic oracle, yields over 22,000 astragali. Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Oder River: Nature & Early People Gobekli Tepe - Neolithic Life Anatolia Sylvia Rose Books The cave is a religious site from Neolithic times. To the Greeks it's a place close to the gods, where wild Pan lives with his lover Echo, and Apollo learns wisdom from the Bee Nympths. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures The practice of contacting the dead or attuning to higher awareness through random castings of dice, bones or sticks originates in prehistory. Bone dice (hakata) are used in divination by the Shona people of Africa for thousands of years. Terrazzo Floors & Neolithic Masons Oldest Cattle Cult 6000 BCE - Arabia The Mystic Victorian - Fortune Telling Sylvia Rose Books Astragalomancy is a branch of cleromancy, or divination by casting of lots. The outcome is determined by means considered random, such as a dice throw, and sometimes believed to reveal the will of a deity. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Numbers may be incised on the dice. The numbers are associated with letters, connected to questions of the diviner. The diviner casts the bones, dice, pebbles or runes and interprets them according to rules related to a religion, such as Norse paganism or Tibetan Buddhism. Bosporus: Black Sea Nature & Greek Myth Is Cherry Laurel Poisonous? Broad Beans (Fava) - Bronze Age Crops Sylvia Rose Books The tossing of stones is pessomancy, or augury using colored or marked objects. The pebbles are shuffled and cast or randomly selected from a bag. Colors and symbols relate to such concerns as romance and wealth. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Marked astragali are used in lotteries or elections. The astrogali are dice, bones or imitation bones of bronze or wood. Sides are marked with values 1,3,4 and 6, with opposing sides adding up to seven. The diviner rolls the astrogali, then consults the relevant dice oracle. Fänggen (Fangga): Man-Eaters of Tyrol Baltic Amber - Gold of the North Elderberry Tree: Germanic Nature Lore Sylvia Rose Books Dice oracles are systemized divination results equated to each sign or number, explaining the meaning of the roll. Often carved into statues or monoliths, they're found throughout the Mediterranean and in Anatolia. Pillars can be about 1.7 m or 5.5 ft tall. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In consulting the astragali or dice, every set or total of numbers relates to a certain deity. A roll of five ones is fortunate, associated with Zeus. The oracle reads "because Zeus will give good counsel to your mind". Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics Minoans of Crete: Ancient Greek Culture Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Sylvia Rose Books Dice oracles of Anatolia follow a specific format. They address the reader in a first person singular. The desire or query of the reader is silently or openly expressed, the dice or bones are cast and the oracle gives a response. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Answers tend to be positive such as “You will find that for which you are consulting the oracle, and nothing will be bad” or “you will get everything about which you are asking”. Ancient Greece - the Mycenean Invasion Rosemary: Immortal Essence & Balm of Kings Wild Women and Winter Tales Sylvia Rose Books Negative responses happen, for instance: “The sun has gone down, and terrible night has come. Everything has become dark: interrupt the matter, about which you ask me.” These are less common than the positive answers. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries In South America, huayru is played at funerals. Traditionally the game uses llama bones, as they are thought to have a power of attraction to the soul of the dead person. Versions are several. The fundamental object is to divine the will of the deceased. Neolithic Skull Cults & Ritual Skulls German Myth - Headless Horseman Agrippina & Son: Poisonous Plots of Rome Sylvia Rose Books The practice can also represent the journey of the deceased. The dice are llamas taking a journey through places associated with commodities, such as a silver mine. The players try to influence the results of the dice by offering prayers or pouring libations. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In a cultural context of the game, the deceased controls how the dice fall. The players react to bad news by beating the corpse and demanding to know why it wishes them to fail. Sometimes the dice are carved from other materials in the shape of canoes. Castle Frankenstein - Legend & Lore Witches' Night - Hexennacht Chamois - Alpine Wild Nature & Lore Sylvia Rose Books Both llamas and canoes are significant as both are used to carry cargo long distances. Playing the game helps the soul on its journey. Some Amazonian societies place the corpse in a hollowed tree, called a canoe. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Astragalomancy is popular in the Middle Ages. Sheep, goat and pig knucklebones are most commonly used. An early Christian work, the book Sortes Sanctorum c. 500 CE, is a guideline of divination by dice to provide insight into the future. Mugwort (Wormwood) Herbal Lore Witches & Witchcraft: Ancient World Lammašaga: Sumerian Angel Goddess Sylvia Rose Books In many places like Africa and Mongolia knucklebone fortune telling is still in practice. It's tradition and superstition in Mongolian culture. Not everyone believes in a connection to the dead but plays anyway. Mongolians usually use wrist bones of a sheep or goat. Lora Ley Adventures - Feast of Fools Queen Eleanor & the Calamitous Crusade Verdigris: Volatile Blue Green Pigment Back to Top

Fate and destiny are integral concepts common to all cultures. For ancient people including Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Europeans and Chinese fate, destiny, death and afterlife connect to a universal mysticism. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure White Ladies in German Mythology Ambrosia: Divine Nectar & Immortal Gods Reishi or Lingzhi - Mushroom Magic Sylvia Rose Books Grave goods are often used as indicators of afterlife belief, but there are other motivations. Reasons for objects placed in graves include as: items to use in the Afterlife, if belief exists items which might be cursed or contaminated, for example if the person dies of a sickness items special to the dead person which should not be used by anyone else Oder River: Nature & Early People Apis - Sacred Sacrificial Bull of Egypt Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Sylvia Rose Books In ancient Mesopotamia, Fate is the natural law dictating the course of human history through process of birth, death, and reincarnation. The concepts are symbolized by revolutions of a wheel. There is no judgment. The land of the dead in Mesopotamia is Kur. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In ancient Egypt, the god of fate or destiny is Shai. He's the personification of human fate, and his name means, "that which is ordained." Fate of a person starts at birth. Shai decrees what will happen to each. The person is judged after death. The Egyptian afterlife is Aaru. Kur - Underworld of Mesopotamia The Way to Aaru - Egyptian Paradise Women of Alchemy - Mary the Jewess Sylvia Rose Books To proto-German and Germanic tribes fate is predetermined. When the time comes for a person to die it happens. They believe in a life after death to the extent that grave goods are placed in burial pits with the corpse, perhaps for future use. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures In Celtic paganism, the people believe in a pre-determined fate. The ancient Celts arise from various tribal groups in parts of west and central Europe in the Late Bronze Age and through the Iron Age to c. 500 BCE. German Myth - Headless Horseman German Myth - Father Rhine River God Christmas Oranges & Yule Fruits Sylvia Rose Books In Germany the names of River Rhine (Renos) and Neckar (root nekk, wild fellow, nixie) are based on the Celtic terms. For many people water is a spiritual connection to realms of the dead. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder MysteriesAdventures In Greek myth, the Fates are divine personifications of birth, life and death of humanity. To ancient Greeks, actions of humans are predestined. People have free will, but the Fates know the ultimate choices of each. The soul may be judged. The Greek afterlife is Hades. Minoans of Crete: Ancient Greek Culture Agrippina & Son: Poisonous Plots of Rome Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Sylvia Rose Books Early Greeks, the Bronze Age Minoans center on Crete and nearby islands. They're thought to believe in afterlife as bodies are interred rather than cremated. The practices of burial and cremation tend to alternate or trend among societies through time. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure The Hittites create complex rituals around the living, and may have believed in an afterlife. The Underworld or Dark Earth is a place of spirits, demons, gods of groundwater and vegetation, ruled by Underworld Goddess Lelwani. There's no judgment. Lelwani - Hittite Underworld Goddess Suppiluliuma II: the Last Hittite King Baal Cycle - Myths of Ba'al Hadad Sylvia Rose Books The Norse build an intertwined belief system involving afterlife sites Valhalla and Hel. These concepts first appear in the Prose Edda, a compilation of writings by Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson c. 1220 CE. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries The stories are based on folk tales brought by Vikings who first settle Iceland in 874 CE. Three and a half centuries later they're used to add interest to the Prose Edda, which is originally intended as a primer for poets. The dead are judged by Valkyrie selection. Honey Mead: Most Ancient Ambrosia Opium Poppy (Papaver somnifum) Gods of Ugarit c. 1800 - 1200 BCE Sylvia Rose Books To ancient Israelites, all events including fate are willed by Yahweh. A person can still choose between good and evil for benevolence of the god. In the 1st century BCE, the three main Jewish sects, Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes, disagree on this concept. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Necromancy entwines with prophecy when the dead come to life. The Witch of Endor famously summons the soul of Samuel c. 1020 BCE. King Saul, who himself has banished necromancy, is desperate for prophecy of the upcoming battle. It doesn't go well. Mugwort (Wormwood) Herbal Lore Witches & Witchcraft: Ancient World Lammašaga: Sumerian Angel Goddess Sylvia Rose Books For the Greco-Romans of antiquity, fate is determined but can be changed. Romans are firm believers in augury. In the time of Nero (r. 54-68) so many people seek to know his date of demise, Nero bans divination entirely, with a death sentence to any who partake. Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure In Chinese philosophy 天命, "heavenly mandate" or "divine decree," refers to the idea of higher power or universe predetermining one's fate. From Korea comes the proverb "Even simply brushing clothes with someone is fate" (옷깃만 스쳐도 인연). Jade - Jadeite, Nephrite & Jade Roads Is Cherry Laurel Poisonous? Elixir of Life: Alchemy & the Emperor Sylvia Rose Books In ancient Japan, every human has a reikon which roughly refers to a spirit or soul. During life reikon is in the human body, and departs after death. It goes to purgatory, where it remains until appropriate funeral rites are given the deceased. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Some people in Japan believe in reincarnation, a concept shared by Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. Almost half the followers of these doctrines believe in reincarnation. Fairy Rings, Moon & Nature Magic Jimson Weed, Witches & Zombies Ereshkigal & the Mesopotamian Underworld Sylvia Rose Books Christians, who are monotheistic, have a strong belief in the afterlife. While God lays out the master plan of humanity, individuals choose the path based on their own decisions. When they die they go to Heaven (good) or Hell (bad). Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Another monotheistic religion is that of the Shona people centered on Mwari (God). Mwari communicates with his people on earth directly, or through chosen members of each family believed to be holy people. Some of the chosen have powers of prophecy and healing. Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds Dream Interpretation (Oneiromancy) - Ancient Egypt Der Türst: Dread Huntsman & the Wild Hunt Sylvia Rose Books Shona belief and customs go back thousands of years. During life, people follow a culture of unhu or set of guidelines, so they don't become bad spirits after death. Death is not seen as a loss or ending. Overall, if people live a good life they enjoy the afterlife. Book of the Heavenly Cow - Myths of Egypt Great Cormorant: Wild Birds & Mythic Beasts Nimrod: Lord of Chaos & Creation Back to Top

Witches work with occult or supernatural energies. In legend, witches are malevolent in nature. They can access realms of the Undead and communicate with restless spirits. Witches have existed for thousands of years, first appearing in ancient Mesopotamia. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure See also: Drude: Germanic Demon of Darkness Lammašaga: Sumerian Angel Goddess Bizilla - Shining Love Goddess Sukkal Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In Mesopotamia witches have different names among the countless languages of the fertile crescent. In Akkadian, the eventual language of commerce and trade, the witch is kaššāpu (m) or kaššaptu (f). Witches originate in ancient Sumer (c. 3500 BCE). From the early days to the 20th century witches and witchcraft are considered evil. Witchcraft in ancient Mesopotamia refers to malevolent magic, with witch being the worker of such magic. See also: Tooth Worms of Ancient Mesopotamia Disease Demons & Doctors: Ancient Mesopotamia Hippomancy: Sacred Horse Divination Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle In the ancient world, magic is part of life. Dream interpretation, chants, hymns, rituals, divination, divine visions and spells of protection are practiced, often by priests, priestesses or doctors working out of temples. Some magic can be done by a householder. Protective magic includes spells, amulets, herbs, figurines and even demonic intervention, as in childbirth. Baby-eating demon Lamashtu can be repulsed by Pazuzu, king of the wind demons. Pazuzu acts not to protect the people, but because Lamashtu is his sworn enemy. See also: Pazuzu - Demon God of Mesopotamia Curse of the Evil Eye & Apotropaic Magic The Mystic Victorian - Fortune Telling Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (1754 BCE) states: "If a man has put a spell upon another man and it is not justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the holy river; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him and he is drowned, the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If the holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him." See also: Abzu - Primal Waters of Creation Cress, Watercress: Natural Health of Ancients Germanic Mythology - Brook Horses Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In most beliefs the practice of magic in itself is normal. Magic includes exorcism and the work of the exorcist or āšipūtu. Sacred or ritual magic is performed primarily in temples. Workers of magic include people such as priests, priestesses and doctors. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Most of these luminaries can also read and write. When Hammurabi puts the stele containing his famous code in the town square for all to read, only 10% of people actually can. See also: Scribes & Writing - Ancient Mesopotamia Papyrus (C. papyrus): Sacred Reeds of Aaru Obsidian: Volcanic Black Glass of Gods Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In Hebrew writings the Witch of Endor (c. 1020 BCE) has magic of prophecy, divination and contact with the realm of the Dead. She's associated with evil/chaos by default, as King Saul asks her to summon the spirit of Samuel when Yahweh (good/order) won't reply to him. In ancient Greece and Rome (c. 8th century BCE - 5th century CE), goêtes (sorcerers) and magoi (mages), practice magic such as divination, spell casting, and invoking supernatural beings. See also: Asherah: Goddess of Childbirth & Fertility Pomegranate - Food of the Ancients Erinyes - Vengeful Women of Ancient Greece Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The goêtes and magoi are not held in high regard due to the number of frauds. Greek sorcerers include a group of men inspired by Pythagoras, now called the Greek shamans, active in the archaic period. The men apparently have miraculous qualities, including the ability to detach their souls from bodies during life. Pythagorus is leader of the Brotherhood of Pythagoreans, a secret society which studied mathematics. Their motto was "All is number." See also: German Myth - White Ladies & Changelings Namtar: Underworld Sukkal & Disease Demon Lora Ley Adventures - Feast of Fools Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books The Greek Magical Papyri (Latin: Papyri Graecae Magicae) is a body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt, written mostly in ancient Greek. They contain magic spells, formulae, hymns and rituals. The materials in the papyri date from the 100s BCE to the 400s CE. Records refer to her as pharmakis (potion specialist),  mantis (diviner), and hiereia (priestess). The death sentence brought against Theoris and her family is for asebeia (impiety). See also: Lotan - Chaos Sea Dragon of Ugarit Chaoskampf: Order & Chaos Battle Out Mušḫuššu - Snake Dragon Animal of Marduk Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In the ancient Greco-Roman world, accounts of people prosecuted and punished for witchcraft exist before Christianity. In ancient Greece, Theoris, a woman of Lemnos, was prosecuted for witchcraft and executed along with her family. Rome's first emperor, Augustus, forbids diviners (manteis) to give divinations to individuals or to divine on the subject of death. Tiberius forbids consultation of soothsayers (haruspices) in secret. He tries to dismantle the oracles, but the people rise up and he backs down. See also: Fairy Rings, Moon & Nature Magic Queen Eleanor & the Calamitous Crusade Alchemist Dippel: the Frankenstein Files Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books In the first century CE, Roman Emperor Nero punishes any attempt at divination for the date of his death. He makes astrology illegal and banishes astrologers from Italy. Politician Publius Anteius is accused of funding a banished astrologer and requesting his own horoscope and that of Nero. For this crime, Nero forces Anteius to commit suicide. Under Nero's rule, practice of astrology is "magic and treason". See also: Nanaya - Goddess of Erotic Love Kamrushepa: Hittite Goddess of Magic German Myth & Folklore: Elves Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Witch figures, or women who work powerful malevolent magic, first appear in ancient Roman literature in the first century BCE. Portrayed as distinctly evil, they include hags who: chant harmful incantations make poisonous potions from herbs and the body parts of animals and humans sacrifice children raise the dead can control the natural world shapeshift themselves and others to animals invoke underworld deities & spirits Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Ancient Greece - the Mycenean Invasion Ereshkigal Goddess of Underworld & Night Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Another description of a malevolent witch in Rome is "a highly sexed woman in her prime, fond of young men and inclined to destroy those who reject her." Unique to Rome as a description of witches, the concept relates to stories of demons from other cultures. In ancient Egypt, the god Heka is the deification of magic and medicine. Heka is also the Egyptian word for magic. According to the Egyptian Coffin Texts, Heka exists "before duality had yet come into being." The term ḥk3 refers to the practice of magical rituals. Shurpu: Ancient Rite of Curse Removal The Sex Demons - Incubus & Succubus Chamomile - Herbology & Folklore Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books According to Egyptologist Ogden Goelet, magic in the Book of the Dead is difficult as the text uses various words corresponding to 'magic'. In ancient Egypt magic is as fundamental as breathing. Goelet explains: Heka magic is many things, but, above all, it has a close association with speech and the power of the word. In the realm of Egyptian magic, actions did not necessarily speak louder than words – they were often one and the same thing. Thought, deed, image, and power are theoretically united in the concept of Heka. See also: Music of Ancient & Medieval Egypt Rise of Pan: Fertility Goat God Péh₂usōn Alchemy: Science, Philosophy, Magic Sylvia Rose Books on Smashwords Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series Reiker For Hire Murder Mysteries Sylvia Rose Art on Zazzle The first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine the Great, introduces new laws against magic in the early 4th century AD. Private divination, and working magic to harm others or to induce lust, are to be harshly punished. Protective magic is allowed. In Europe from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, cunning folk, also known as folk healers or wise folk, practice folk medicine, helpful folk magic and divination. Their work is called the cunning craft, and their services include repelling witchcraft. See also: Garnets - Gemstones of Blood and Life Inara & the Dragon - Purulliya Festival Witches' Night - Hexennacht Today's Zazzle Specials Smashwords Books Some cunning folk are denounced as witches; however the people differentiate between the concepts. The name 'cunning folk' originally refers to folk-healers and magic-workers in Britain. Today the term is used throughout Europe. See also: Wine God Liber: Liberty & Liberal Libation Atum of Egypt - First Primordial God Epic of Erra - Plague God of Babylon Back to Top

Minoan culture arises from the Neolithic people who settle Crete c. 7000 - 6000 BCE. They open the door to a prosperous civilization, expansive architecture and a wealth of myth including that of the Minotaur. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Corycian Caves, Bee Nymphs & Greek Gods Is Cherry Laurel Poisonous? Ancient Greece - the Mycenean Invasion Sylvia Rose Books On Crete, settlements from the aceramic or pre-pottery Neolithic date to the 7th millennium BCE. The people use domesticated animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, pigs and dogs. Cereals and legumes show evidence of selective crop breeding. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Ancient Knossos is a populous Neolithic settlement and grows into one of the grandest cities of Minoan civilization. Other Neolithic sites include Kephala, where the palace of Knossos is built. Ambrosia: Divine Nectar & Immortal Gods Rise of Pan: Fertility Goat God Péh₂usōn Arcadia - Greek Lands of Ancient Gods Sylvia Rose The Neolithic Cretan settlement Magasa on the east coast is notable for palatial chambers and multi-roomed homes. The but-and-ben (two room) housing design and use of mud-dried brick is similar to architecture found of Neolithic Knossos. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Trapeza ("table") is another important Neolithic site, a sacred primeval cave system. Some Bronze Age pottery finds are similar to those of Knossos and Vasiliki, the latter known for the Vasiliki style of pottery. Ephedra - Oldest Medical Stimulant Herb Cleopatra the Alchemist of Greece Sprites: Ethereal Creatures of Faerie Sylvia Rose Books The Minoans reach their peak of prosperity c. 3100 BCE to c. 1420 BCE. Major Minoan cities include Knossos on the north central coast, and palatial Phaistos, on a sheltered cove of south central Crete. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Minoan civilization is known for Linear A, an early logosyllabic writing system based on symbols corresponding to sounds, as in Egyptian and Asian languages. Adopted by later Mycenaeans, it evolves to Linear B and eventually modern Greek. Sun Goddesses of World Mythology Honey Bees (Apidae): Nature & Myth Proto Writing: Signs of the Times Sylvia Rose Books Minoan culture is self-sufficient, with the island habitat providing basic needs and crops such as flax, barley and lentils. Economy expands with a network of Mediterranean trade. Exports include timber, wheat, figs, olives and olive oil, linen and luxury artisan works. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Minoans trade for tin and copper to make bronze; as well as gold, silver; emery rock or granules from the Cycladic island Nexus; fine stone, ivory, and manufactured items. Their cultural influence extends to Cyprus, Canaan, and Egypt. Copper: Ruddy Metal of Myth & Magic Cyprus: Prehistoric Humans & Pygmy Hippos Figs - Food of the Ancient World Sylvia Rose Books In the Bronze Age, the building of palaces typifies Minoan art and architecture. A palace can be the home of a royal ruler, or a place of public gathering. Grand and airy, a palace differs from a castle, which is heavily fortified. A bright lively style dominates Minoan art. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries Minoans create the first true frescoes. In fresco the pigment is mixed with binder, such as gypsum, to become part of the wall, compared to murals which are painted on the wall. Even today some frescoes are still vivid. Terrazzo Floors & Neolithic Masons Horse in Dreams - Meaning of Horses Mythic Fire Gods: Hephaestus of the Greek Sylvia Rose Books Fresco subject matter is often nature and ritual, including the famous Minoan bull jump. The people have a strong bull culture. Like Egypt and later Rome, Minoans equate the Bull with fertility, virility, strength and glory of the Sun. The jump involves holding the horns of the Bull and being tossed into the air. The object is to somersault in the air, land standing on the back of the Bull and spring gracefully to the ground. This display of agility is for male and female participants. Ancient Arabia - Stone Age to Bronze Cult of the Bull - Prehistoric Aurochs Gold - Precious Metal of the Sun Sylvia Rose Books The Minoans are named for mythical King Minos who rules Crete three generations before the Trojan War. Minos has several sons, one of whom wins an international athletic competition. The Aegean king sends the young man to Athens, where he's murdered. READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries The murderers are either jealous competitors or the Cretan Bull. The Cretan Bull sires the Minotaur with Minos' wife Pasiphaë, a daughter of Helios the Sun. Pasiphaë falls in love with the Bull. She has a hollow cow built, gets inside and mates with him. Apis - Sacred Sacrificial Bull of Egypt Women of Alchemy - Mary the Jewess Silver - Queen of Precious Metals Sylvia Rose Books The Minotaur, a man with the head of a Bull, is the product of this liaison. Although his mother tries to nurse him the Minotaur became ferocious, as he needs to devour humans to survive. King Minos builds the labyrinth to house the Minotaur. READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure Fuming over the death of his son, Minos begs Zeus to smite Athens with plague and famine. Zeus obliges. Through an oracle, the Athenians discover they must send seven boys and seven girls every nine years to feed the creature. Eventually Theseus slays the Minotaur. Arsenic: Murderous Metal & Miracle Cure Before the Viking Age - Gods of the Sámi Syrian Brown Bear - Bronze Age Wild Sylvia Rose Books In the Minoan bull culture, bulls and oxen are sacrificed to honor the Gods. Sacrifices can be huge, a show of riches or desperation. A sacrifice of one hundred oxen even has its own term, a hecatomb or hekatomb. READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventures Minoans have wheeled carts pulled by oxen by c. 2000. Horses first come to Greece c.1600 BCE and become an integral part of culture and warfare. Equated with nobility and wealth, horses also appear in decorations and art. Ullikummi - Rock Monster of Legend Mt Nemrut Volcano: Nature & Lore Obsidian: Ancient Volcanic Black Glass Sylvia Rose Books In 1600 BCE the catastrophic eruption of the Thera volcano or Minoan eruption, wreaks widespread destruction. Massive tsunamis wipe out coastal habitations. Known for saffron as well as weaving and textile production, Santorini is destroyed and forever reshaped. Among the biggest eruptions in history, the Thera eruption creates a huge caldera with volcanic ash deposits hundreds of meters deep. Santorini sits on a volcanic belt extending through the south Aegean. For a couple of centuries the region is abandoned. Aya - Goddess of Dawn, Mesopotamia Saffron - Most Precious Ancient Spice Amethyst - Divine Purple Quartz Gemstone Sylvia Rose Books Minoans pick up the pieces and move on. In c. 1420 BCE war breaks out. Destruction through Crete tells of internal revolt and Mycenaean attack. Some palaces are ruined, others preserved. Mycenae takes control of Crete and assimilates the Minoan culture. Fairy Rings, Moon & Nature Magic Pagan Solstice Fests: Mithras & the Sun Queen Eleanor and the Calamitous Crusade Back to Top